Growing Pains
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Metalocalypse: Life hasn't been kind to Snizzy Snazz Bullets of Snakes N' Barrels fame


_Bullets smiled and tossed his head back as the lights dimmed down and the audience started to scream for them again; despite the fact that they had just performed two encores so far and did not plan on doing a third tonight._

_Looking over at Pickles, he caught his eye as he put his guitar down and then headed backstage._

_Pickles smiled and followed after him; heading for the dressing room they all shared._

"_Yo, Pickles! Me and Tony are gonna go and get painted by naked ladies back at the hotel! You want in?" Candynose asked; his arms wrapped around the waists of two young girls who were wearing too much make-up and not enough clothes._

"_Not tonight, dude." Pickles declined as a girl suddenly ran up and hugged him tightly; screeching for a moment before leaning up for a kiss._

_Rolling his eyes, Pickles placed a hand over her mouth and pushed her towards a laughing Tony who was currently dealing with five girls trying to take his hat and vest off._

"_Aw come on! We even got a mother and daughter thing going on!" Candynose added with a smile._

"_Leave him alone, Candy." Tony said, taking a swig from a bottle of Jack Daniels as one of the girls finally got his hat and put it on._

_Looking at Pickles knowingly, Tony gave him a wink and a slight thumbs up._

"_Bullets is waiting for you, honey."_

"_Oh right…the gay thing with Bullets." Candynose said softly, a light bulb seeming to suddenly turn on._

_Chuckling, Pickles shook his head and waved them good-bye as he proceeded to dodge the screaming fans once more in his epic quest for the dressing room._

"_OHMYGODIT'SPICKLES!"_

_Cursing softly, Pickles put on a burst of speed and started to run as a large hoard of female fans broke through the bodyguards and started to chase him._

_Humming softly to himself, Bullets brushed a lock of hair from his face as he finished cleaning up their dressing room; vaguely wondering why Candynose insisted on there being a bowl of just red Skittles in the room when he never ate any of them._

_He looked up in surprise in the door was opened violently and he couldn't help but laugh as Pickles dove in and slammed the door shut._

_Panting heavily, the lead singer of Snakes N' Barrels leaned against the door, his hair more wild than usual from the tearing hands of some of the fans._

"_Holy shit!" he cried out, running his fingers through his hair._

"_You ok?"_

"_I…I think some of those bitches tore some of my hair out! Mother douche bags!" Pickles growled angrily._

"_I knew we should have aimed the fire launchers at the fans and then…"_

_Bullet's lips pressed up against his own silenced him and Pickles sighed as he closed his eyes and kissed him back, wrapping his arms around his neck slowly with a smile as they parted lips._

"_Better?" Bullets asked._

"_Much better."_

_With a smile, Bullets rested his hands on Pickles' hips and pulled him in closer until their chests were touching._

"_You need to start shaving your chest, Snizz."_

"_Maybe you should start growing hair on yours."_

"_Touché." Pickles admitted with a laugh._

"_The others are off getting painted by naked ladies again…"_

"_Yeah, Candynose asked if I wanted to join in."_

"_He forgot that you were gay again?"_

"_Totally."_

"_Yeah, he did that with me too." Bullets admitted with a laugh, shaking his head._

_A lock of wavy auburn hair fell into his face and Pickles reached up to give it a gentle tug._

"_I love yer hair, Snizz." He purred, grinding against him lazily, making the slightly older man suck air between clenched teeth in pleasure._

"_And yer face…"_

_He cupped Bullets' face in his hands, his fingertips gently tracing the high cheekbones and the angular nose._

"_Ya got a very expressive face, Bullets. With such high cheek bones and a nose sharp enough to cut glass." He purred, leaning in to kiss his lips tenderly._

"_Don't ever lose that ok?" he asked, looking up at him almost worriedly._

_Smiling, Bullets leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck, suckling and licking the flesh as he slowly pulled Pickles' pants down and turned him around._

"_I won't." he whispered into his ear before giving it a gentle bite and a lick._

_Shuddering, Pickles rested his hands on the door as he spread his legs as wide as they would go with the pants hindering him; his breathing starting to turn shallow._

"_I love you, Bullets." He said over his shoulder, looking at him with smoldering eyes._

"_I love you too, Red." Bullets answered huskily, holding onto his hips tightly before starting to gently make love to him._

_A week later, Pickles left Snakes N' Barrels without any real explanation to the rest of his band mates._

"Oh my God…"

Keeping his one good eye on the ground, Snizzy Snazz Bullets; former guitarist of Snakes and Barrels, shuffled his feet and silently wished that he had died that night the stroke had taken the right side of his face.

He had been the first one to show up at the garage for Snakes N' Barrels' practice for the reunion concert and now that he was forced to show Pickles what he had become; he really wished that he hadn't agreed to this.

"Bullets…yer hair…"

"Fell out." He sighed softly, lightly touching the huge bald spot on the top of his head.

"Makes me look like Larry from the Stooges huh?" he added with a weak laugh, the left side of his mouth turning up to make a crooked smile while the right remained limp.

"Bullets, look at me."

But he found that he couldn't and he just shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Pickles…"

He was suddenly forced to look up when Pickles took him by the chin and lifted his face up and the look in his eyes made Bullets' heart hurt again.

"Bullets, why is the right side of your face messed up?" Pickles asked softly.

"I…got a hold of some bad powder and had a stroke." He admitted. "The entire side of my face doesn't work anymore…even my eye."

Holding up one finger, Pickles moved it slowly from side to side and Bullets followed it with just his left eye.

"Jesus…"

"You're looking good though."

"Yeah, my hair's leaving me too…"

"But I'm sure all of that money from being in Dethklok helps doesn't it?"

"Bullets…"

"You left and didn't even say good-bye to me. You didn't even tell me where you were going or why."

"I just…needed heavier music, man."

"Yeah? And what about me? Did you need to replace me too along with your musical tastes?"

"…"

"I took heavier amounts of heroin after the break-up. I had the stroke after trying to inject one hundred percent pure inside of me."

_He remembered writhing on the cold and wet ground, foaming at the mouth as the needle broke; leaving most of it inside of his arm as pain erupted all over the right side of his face._

_The last thing he had seen before blacking out was Pickles; smiling up at him and telling him that he loved him._

"…"

"I'm starting to get arthritis…my hands hurt when I try to play my guitar, but I'm willing to endure the pain and play once more for the band...the band _you_ abandoned."

"I'm sorry." Pickles whispered weakly.

"So am I…I'm sorry that I ever loved you with all of my heart and soul."

The two former lovers just stood looking at each other then, unspoken words burning inside of their hearts but refusing to be spoken aloud.

"Snizz…I…"

"Hey! Hey, Pickles! Bullets! We're really doing this huh?"

Looking up, they saw a fat Candynose happily running over, waving a hand in the air as a wide smile spread over his jovial face.

Pickles winced inwardly at the sight of the drummer; dressed in his old outfit that barely fit over that round stomach he now sported.

Looking from Bullets to Candynose, he realized that the crack addict had faired better in the long run.

Laughing happily, Candynose threw an arm around their shoulders and pulled them into a tight hug, his belly jiggling like the proverbial bowl of jelly.

"This is going to be awesome! We're going to rock harder than ever! Right?" he asked.

His smile wore off when he finally got a good look at Bullets and he looked at him worriedly.

"Holy shit, Snizz! What the fuck happened to your face?!"

"Nothing." The guitarist said softly.

"The whole right side is limp!"

"I know, Candy."

"Does that eye even work?"

"No, it doesn't." Bullets said after a long pause, turning his face to keep his right side out of view.

"Shit." Candynose muttered.

"Yeah." Bullets agreed.

There was an awkward silence between the three men and it was only interrupted when Tony showed up wearing his usual top hat and vest.

Instead of running up and laughing like Candynose however, he looked from Pickles to Bullets and he knew enough not to say anything as he simply took the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it away.

"You ready, sweetheart?" he asked Pickles, cocking one eyebrow.

Looking back over at Bullets; Pickles mentally promised himself to quit doing all of the heavy drugs.

"I'm ready." He nodded.

"What about you, Candy?" Tony asked.

"I've been waiting for this for years!" the fat drummer answered happily, still looking at the scarred guitarist warily.

"Honey?"

Bullets turned to look at the older bass player and he found the familiar twinkle of mischief in his black eyes.

"Are you ready for this, Snizz?"

_He remembered sobbing for weeks after Pickles left them, hugging Tony at times and using him as a human tissue before he too left them, followed by Candynose._

_He remembered the drugs making him forget almost everything at times and then suddenly going into a deep depression as the memories came crashing back down on him when the drugs wore off._

_He remembered wanting to die as his body writhed and twitched wildly in that dark alley where he tried to shoot pure white poison into his arm; tears streaming down both cheeks for the last time._

_He also remembered smiling green eyes looking up at him, shining with love as he was kissed deeply and promised undying love from their owner._

Deep down inside…Bullets' heart still loved Pickles.

"I'm ready." Bullets nodded.


End file.
